Government Claims for Clean-Up Costs Related to Cold-War-Era Contracts Rebuffed

On September 30, a federal court dismissed the government's claims for clean-up costs associated with groundwater contamination resulting from Cold-War-era Air Force contracts for certain rockets. Dismissal of the government's claims, which alleged perchlorate and trichloroethylene contamination, was based in part on "hold harmless" language in Air Force facilities contracts and continues the trend of recent decisions in cases involving the government's obligation to pay for environmental remediation costs stemming from work performed under government contracts.